This project year demonstrated the ability to produce soy hull activated carbon samples for interested commercial parties with a performance advantage of 50% over the leading commercial material. An activated carbon from soy hulls was produced using a larger scale kiln capable of processing 1 kg of soy hulls at a time. These samples were used to create electrodes for supercapacitors demonstrating superior performance. The end result of this project year is the ability to produce and supply batches for commercial validation using our commercialization partner, Luna Labs. Luna labs will use these samples to create a path to commercialization and find opportunities for licensing. Luna Labs will now take this project forward as principle investigator, focusing the efforts of this project on finding an agreement for commercial production.

The commercialization of the soy hull AC will bring a higher value to soy hulls and increase the value of U.S. soy as crushing capacity increases to meet the demand for biobased fuels and chemicals. This material will also establish a sustainable and biobased source for electrodes that will increase the reputation of U.S. soy as a sustainable solution for the electronics industry.